Surrounded by Psychopaths
(and why the DISC assessment completes it)
Surrounded by Psychopaths is a book about dark behavioural patterns.
What happens when one person plays by social rules and another doesn’t? It explains in concrete terms how manipulation works when empathy is absent and consequences are irrelevant to the manipulator.
Psychopathic behaviour is rarely loud or obvious. No, it is methodical. Strategic. Adapted to the person on the receiving end.
Manipulation never looks the same to everyone.
Reds are often pressured through urgency, authority, and manufactured crises.
Yellows are drawn in through affirmation, charisma, and emotional momentum.
Greens are targeted via guilt, loyalty, and an appeal to harmony.
Blues are cornered with selective facts, false logic, and distorted reasonableness.
The book teaches you to recognise these tactics in others. What it cannot do is show you where you as an individual are personally most vulnerable.
Many readers finish the book thinking: “I see them now.” Too few realise that the real question should be: “Do they see me?”
This is precisely where the DISC assessment becomes essential. Insight without self-knowledge creates confidence – not protection.
The assessment reveals:
- which manipulation strategies you are most likely to underestimate
- how you instinctively react under pressure, charm, or conflict
- how to set boundaries that align with your personality instead of fighting it
The assessment does not label you. It equips you with an armour.
Read the book to understand manipulation.
Then take the DISC assessment to make sure manipulation doesn’t work on you.
Meet Thomas Erikson
Thomas Erikson is an internationally recognized behaviourist, keynote speaker, and the author behind the Surrounded by series.
Take the DISC Assessment
Understand how you respond to the people around you, and how they respond to you.
You will receive a detailed 25-page report that will reflect your balance across the four DISC types – Dominance, Influence, Stability and Compliance. Or, the four colours red, yellow, green and blue – if you prefer those.
International editions of Surrounded by Psychopaths
Surrounded by Psychopaths has been or will be published in the following langagues.
Arabic
Chinese (Simplified) – China
Chinese (Complex) – Taiwan
Croatian
Danish
Dutch
English (UK)
English (US)
Estonian
Finnish
German
Hebrew
Lithuanian
Macedonian
Norwegian
Polish
Portugese (Brasil)
Portugese (Portugal)
Romanian
Russian
Serbian
Slovakian
Slovenian
Spanish
Swedish
Thai
Turkish
Ukrainian
